Ultrasensitive and Stretchable Conductive Fibers Using Percolated Pd Nanoparticle Networks for Multisensing Wearable Electronics: Crack-Based Strain and H2 Sensors.

The need for wearable electronic devices continues to grow, and the research is under way for stretchable fiber-type sensors that are sensitive to the surrounding atmosphere and will provide proficient measurement capabilities. Currently, one-dimensional fiber sensors have several limitations for their extensive use because of the complex structures of the sensing mechanisms. Thus, it is essential to miniaturize these materials with durability while integrating multiple sensing capabilities. Herein, we present an ultrasensitive and stretchable conductive fiber sensor using PdNP networks embedded in elastomeric polymers for crack-based strain and H2 sensing. The fiber multimodal sensors show a gauge factor of ∼2040 under 70% strain and reliable mechanical deformation tolerance (10,000 stretching cycles) in the strain-sensor mode. For H2 sensing, the fiber multimodal sensors exhibit a wide sensing range of high sensitivity: -0.43% response at 5 ppm (0.0005%) H2 gas and -27.3% response at 10% H2 gas. For the first time, we demonstrate highly stretchable H2 sensors that can detect H2 gas under 110% strain with mechanical durability. As demonstrated, their stable performance allows them to be used in wearable applications that integrate fiber multimodal sensors into industrial safety clothing along with a microinorganic light-emitting diode for visual indication, which exhibits proper activation upon H2 gas exposure.

Recent Advances in 1D Stretchable Electrodes and Devices for Textile and Wearable Electronics: Materials, Fabrications, and Applications.

Research on wearable electronic devices that can be directly integrated into daily textiles or clothes has been explosively grown holding great potential for various practical wearable applications. These wearable electronic devices strongly demand 1D electronic devices that are light-weight, weavable, highly flexible, stretchable, and adaptable to comport to frequent deformations during usage in daily life. To this end, the development of 1D electrodes with high stretchability and electrical performance is fundamentally essential. Herein, the recent process of 1D stretchable electrodes for wearable and textile electronics is described, focusing on representative conductive materials, fabrication techniques for 1D stretchable electrodes with high performance, and designs and applications of various 1D stretchable electronic devices. To conclude, discussions are presented regarding limitations and perspectives of current materials and devices in terms of performance and scientific understanding that should be considered for further advances.

Nonfluorinated Superomniphobic Surfaces through Shape-Tunable Mushroom-like Polymeric Micropillar Arrays.

Superomniphobic surfaces showing extremely liquid-repellent properties have received a great amount of attention as they can be used in various industrial and biomedical applications. However, so far, the fabrication processes of these materials mostly have involved the coating of perfluorocarbons onto micro- and nanohierarchical structures of these surfaces, which inevitably causes environmental pollution, leading to health concerns. Herein, we developed a facile method to obtain flexible superomniphobic surfaces without perfluorocarbon coatings that have shape-tunable mushroom-like micropillars (MPs). Inspired by the unique structures on the skin of springtails, we fabricated mushroom-like structures with downward facing edges (i.e., a doubly re-entrant structure) on a surface. The flexible MP structures were fabricated using a conventional micromolding technique, and the shapes of the mushroom caps were made highly tunable via the deposition of a thin aluminum (Al) layer. Due to the compressive residual stress of the Al, the mushroom caps were observed to bend toward the polymer upon forming doubly re-entrant-MP structures. The obtained surface was found to repel most low-surface-tension liquids such as oils, alcohols, and even fluorinated solvents. The developed flexible superomniphobic surface showed liquid repellency even upon mechanical stretching and after surface energy modification. We envision that the developed superomniphobic surface with high flexibility and wetting resistance after surface energy modification will be used in a wide range of applications such as self-cleaning clothes and gloves.

Highly Conductive Fiber with Waterproof and Self-Cleaning Properties for Textile Electronics.

Major concerns in the development of wearable textile electronics are exposure to moisture and contamination. The exposure can cause electrical breakdown of the device and its interconnections, and thus continuous efforts have been made to fabricate textile electronics which are free from moisture and pollution. Herein, we developed a highly conductive and waterproof fiber with excellent electrical conductivity (0.11 Ω/cm) and mechanical stability for advanced interconnector components in wearable textile electronics. The fabrication process of the highly conductive fiber involves coating of a commercial Kevlar fiber with Ag nanoparticle-poly(styrene- block-butadiene- block-styrene) polymer composites. The fabricated fiber then gets treated with self-assembled monolayer (SAM)-forming reagents, which yields waterproof and self-cleaning properties. To find optimal SAM-forming reagents, four different kinds of reagents involving 1-decane thiol (DT), 1 H,1 H,2 H,2 H-perfluorohexanethiol, 1 H,1 H,2 H,2 H-perfluorodecyltrichlorosilane, 1 H,1 H,2 H,2 H-perfluodecanethiol (PFDT) were compared in terms of their thiol group and carbon chain lengths. Among the SAM-forming reagents, the PFDT-treated conductive fiber showed superior waterproof and self-cleaning property, as well as great sustainability in the water with varying pH because of nanoscale roughness and low surface energy. In addition, the functionality of the conductive fiber was tested under mechanical compression via repeated washing and folding processes. The developed conductive fiber with waterproof and self-cleaning property has promising applications in the interconnector operated under water and textile electronics.